Packaging machines



Dec. 15, 1964 J. DUNS PACKAGING MACHINES Filed Dec. 26. 1961 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 15, 1964 u s 3,161,002

PACKAGING MACHINES Filed Dec. 26. 1961 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 15, 1964Filed Dec. 26. 1961 J. DUNS 3,161,002

PACKAGING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent 3,161,002lAiIKAGING MAQHEIE John Duns, Weiwyn Garden Qity, England, assignor toSmith & Nephew Plastics Limited, Hull, England, a hritish company FiledDec. 26, 196i, Ser. No. 162395 8 Qlaims. (Cl. Sit-#186) This inventionrelates to packaging machines of the kind which utilise for thepackaging material a roll of thin plastic film such, for example, aspolyethylene, formed as a flattened tube (which in some cases may haveside gussets), and which material from the roll in the machine isadapted to be drawn oif by hand and its open end passed over the goodsto be packed so that the portion of the tube adjacent the end enclosessaid goods, said portion still enclosing the goods being cut off fromthe tube immediately after the two thicknesses are heat-sealed togetherand which will be close to the line of the said cut, and has for itsobject to provide such machines of simple and efiicient form adapted tohave mounted therein rolls of various widths of the plastic material,and to be utilised for the packaging of a wide variety of goods.

In accordance with a primary feature of the present invention, such apackaging machine comprises a pair of gripping devices which, at the endof the sealing and cutting operations, hold the flattened tubularplastic gripped between them in a position slightly spaced from the endfrom which the bag has just been cut, and which gripping devices, whenthe cutting and heat-sealing members are moved from their operative totheir inoperative positions, are caused to move and draw off apreliminary,

portion of the material from the roll so as to feed the cut end of thematerial through the sealing and cutting positions to a position whereit can readily be taken hold of by the hands of the operator, for theremainder of the full amount of the material (which will vary with theparticular goods being packed) to be drawn off, by the hands of theoperator, and then passed around to enclose said goods, ready foranother heat-sealing and cutting operation.

Another feature of the present invention consists in so arranging themachine that the material from the roll passes to and over a horizontalplatform, from the front of which the said material is led to theheat-sealing and cutting position.

In preferred forms the two shorter sides of this platform are mountedfor horizontal movement in the side frames or the like of themachine,and the platform carries the pair of gripping devices hereinbeforereferred to.

After the material has been pulled forwards by the hands of the operatorsufficiently to fully enclose the goods and is held enwrapped around thegoods, however, when the machine is operated to effect the heat-sealingand cutting-off of a bag, as a first step of the operation the platformis moved towards the rear, with the gripping devices out of grippingaction with the material and moving freely in relation to the material,and towards the end of this time the heat-sealing and cutting areeffected as hereinafter explained. After this the movement of theplatform is automatically reversed and during this reversed and forwardmovement the preliminary feeding of the material is effected aspreviously set forth.

The movements of the platform, according to a still further feature ofthe invention, are imparted, through suitable mechanism, to theco-operating devices which effect the heat sealing, so that they arebrought into and out of operation in timed relation with the movementsof the platform. I

The co-operating devices for effecting the heat sealing which comprisethe electrical heater and the pad on which the heater presses, accordingto an important feature of 3, i h l ,WZ hatented Dec. 1 5, 1 96d ice thepresent invention consists in making'the heater and pad as two separateunits extending from side to side of the machine and mutually movingthem together to grip the material between them for the heat sealingoperation, or mutually moving them apart to free the material after suchoperation. For this purpose the mechanism is such that, especially whenoperated from the movable platform, the heater and pad work in more orless vertical guideways in the side frames of the machine or the like,so as to be brought together or moved apart in the manner of a pair ofjaws.

The knife for cutting the material immediately after the heat-sealing ispreferably of the pointed saw-tooth type, operates in guideways and hasco-operating therewith a grooved transversely extending presser barwhich may be of metal. When the actual cutting takes place the materialis held taut against the presser so that the portion extending over thegroove is first punctured by the points of the teeth and then severed;the groove, of course, has such depth that the knife edge can beaccommodated therein for the instant after the cutting and before thereturn action of the knife.

According to a still further feature of the invention, any suitablelost-motion device may be employed for vp'ostponing the operation of theknife until after the heatsealing.

The operating means in machines according to the invention may be whollymanual, or power (hydraulic, pneumatic or electric) brought into actionmanually. When manual, a lever action (against spring return) effectsthe heat sealing, cutting and preliminary feed of the material. Thislever action in most cases is a pedal or treadle mechanism, to leave thehands of the operator free to manipulate the tubular plastic material;

. in order that the invention may be better understood, it will now bedescribed with reference to the accompanying somewhat diagrammaticdrawings which are given by way of example only, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of one embodiment of a machine made inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view, to illustrate the action ofthe machine shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 5 is a cross-section of the material used in the machine.

MG. 6 is a diagrammatic elevation to illustrate the operation of themeans-for gripping the material.

FIG. 7 is a sectional side elevatiorrlwith parts removed for clearness),to a larger scale, of the upper portion of the machine shown in FIG. 1,with the parts in the rest position.

FIG. 8 is a similar view to FIG. 7 but with the parts in the positionmid-way through the operating stroke, that is, just after the sealingand cutting and ready for the automatic return of the parts to theposition shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, to illustrate themounting and operation of the table, and with the parts in the positionshown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a front elevation (with parts removed for clearness) of aside of the upper part of the machine such as shown in FIG. 7, seen fromthe front of the machine, and

FIG. 11 is a similar view to FIG. 10 with parts in section and as seenfrom the direction of the rear of the machine.

in FIGS. 1 to 6 the machine is formed as a cabinet made from an interiorlower framework (not shown) bounded by outer panels of sheet metal. Thelatter, at the lower part, comprise a front panel 12 and side panels oneof which, 13, is shown in FIG. 2; the rear panel (not 3 shown) is madereadily removable. The upper portion of the machine comprises twosimilar but handed side frames one of which, 14, is shown in FIGS. 7 to11 to be hereafter referred to; these are interconnected and fixed tothe lower framework. The panelling for the upper part of the machinecomprises a ventilated front 15, with a wide horizontal slot 16 for theoutlet of the-material. It also has a top, the portion 17 of which isventilated and the portion 18 formed as a cover which is hinged at 19 tothe portion 17.

As represented diagrammatically in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, but chiefly in FIG.2, the lower framework has supporting spindles for rolls 20 and 21 ofthe material, which may be gusseted as shown in FIG. 5. The width of thematerial on one roll 20 may be different from that on the other roll 21.The material 22 from either ro-ll can be passed around a distancing bar23 connecting the upper side frames 14. These upper side frames 14 (ashereafter described) support a reciprocating sliding table 24, shown inits forward position in FIG. 2, and this carries the spindles of twogripping rollers 25 and 26 so that the material passes from the crossbar 23 on to the upper surface of the table 24, then between the rollers25 and 26, and then out through the opening 16 at the front of themachine. As shown in FIG. 2, in the forward position of the table 24,which is the rest position, the material 22 has an end 27 at the frontwhich projects ready to be gripped and pulled outwardly by the hands ofthe operator. This allows him to draw off a sufficient amount to pullover and enclose the next goods it is desired to enwrap, and this beforethe machine is operated.

The table 24 is moved by a pedal 28 at the front of the machine. This isfixed on a cross spindle 29 and has an arm 30 connected by a push bar 31to one end of a lever 32 fixed to a cross shaft 33 mounted in bearingsand extending between the two side frames 14. Adjacent each side frame14 on the interior of the machine, the shaft 33 has secured thereto alever 34 having a shaped slot 35 therein which engages a projectingroller 36 at the side of the table 24. Although only one lever 34 is tobe seen in FIG. 2, it will be appreciated that there are two suchlevers, one at each side of the table 24, which table has a roller 36 ateach side.

With the parts in the position shown in FIG. 2, when the pedal 28 isdepressed the slot 35 is so shaped that at first the table 24 is broughtto its rear position, where it stops, and then the slot 35 moves overits engaged roller 36 by lost motion. When the pedal is released, thetable 24 moves back automatically to its forward position under theaction of two tension springs, one of which, 37, appears in FIG. 2. Oneend of a spring 37 engages an arm 38 of the associated lever 34, and theother a fixed pin 39 on the corresponding side frame 14.

The table has two other projecting rollers at its two sides; one ofthese, 40, appears in FIG. 2 and engages in a slot in one arm of abell-crank lever 41 mounted to turn on a bearing on the inside of a sideframe 14. The roller 40 also engages in a slot in an arm of anotherbell-crank lever 42 mounted to turn in another bearing in the inside ofthe side frame 14. The upper bell-crank lever 41 controls the up anddown movements of an electric sealing heater 43 which extends from sideto side of the machine and is carried by a frame which works in guidesin the side frames 14. The other bell-crank lever 42 controls thecooperating down and up movements of a presser pad 44 which co-operateswith the sealing heater 43.

The arrangement is such that as the table 24 moves rearwardly, withoutmoving the material rearwardly (by the means to be described hereafter)the heater 43 and pad 44 are moved each towards the other, to gripbetween them the material 22 which lies in this position, to effect thesealing operation.

The cutting of the material takes place immediately after the sealing,by the continued depression of the pedal, and will be hereafterparticularly described.

As soon as the cutting is effected, the pedal is released so that thetwo springs 37 (one at each side of the machine) effects the returnstroke and cause the table to be pushed to the forward position, whichautomatically raises the heater 43 and lowers the pad 44 and againbrings the parts to the rest position shown in FIG. 2.

The manner in which the gripping rollers 25 and 26 operate will be seenfrom FIG. 6. As to be hereafter described, the lower roller 26 iscarried by a spindle on the underside of the table and passes through agap in the table to contact the upper roller 25 which is carried betweentwo arms pivoted in bearings on the upper side of the table and keptpressed downwardly with a slight pressure by spring means. Each rolleris carried by a fixed spindle with a fixed ratchet wheel or itsequivalent thereon, and each roller has slipping pawl means engaging theratchet. Thus, the upper fixed spindle 45 has a ratchet wheel 46 securedthereto, and the roller 25, which freely rotates on the fixed spindle45, has a slipping pawl 47. As a consequence, when the material 22 ispulled forwardly in the direction of the arrow 48, this is permitted bythe upper roller rotating in the direction of the arrow 49, the pawl 47slipping over the teeth of the ratchet wheel 45. Similarly, when thefixed spindle 45 is moved rearwardly in the direction of the arrow 50,the roller 25 can turn in the direction of the arrow 49, that is, moveover the surface of the material 22.

The action is similar for the lower roller 26 which has a fixed spindle51 and a fixed ratchet wheel 52, the roller itself being free to rotateon the spindle 51 and having a slipping pawl 53. Here again, where thematerial is moved in the direction of the arrow 48 the roller is rotatedin the direction of the arrow 54, and when the fixed spindle 51 is movedin the direction of the arrow 55 the roller also rotates in thedirection of the arrow 54. V In other words, if the table 24 is in theforward position, then it is possible to pull upon the end 27 of thematerial and pull out as much material as desired, this action beingpermitted by the rollers 25 and 26 as they both are free to rotate onthe surface of the material 22. Similarly, when the parts are in theposition shown in FIG. 2 and it is desired to move the table rearwardly,this can be done without moving the material rearwardly as the rollersare free to turn whilst pressed on to the surfaces of the material whenthe table moves rearwardly.

However, when the table is in the rearmost position, the material isstill gripped between the rollers 25 and 26, and upon the forwardmovement of the table, that is to say, for the present purpose thespindles 45 and 51 in the forward direction, that is, in the directionof the arrows 56, then the pawl and ratchet engagements do not permitthe rollers 25 and 26 to rotate on their spindles, but only to continuegripping the material between them, so that this forward movement of thetable causes the rollers to pull the material from the main roller 20 or21, as the case may be, in order that a length thereof is fed forward onevery return movement of the table 24 from the rear to the front, tobring said material to the exterior and constitute the end such as 27ready to be pulled upon by the operator to enwrap around the goods to bepackaged and before the next operation of the machine.

Any suitable table or like device may be provided to assist in packagingthe goods. That shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 comprises two telescopic armsspaced apart one above the other. Each of these arms comprises a tube57, one end of which is fixed to the lower framework of the machine, anda rod 58 telescoping therein. The outer ends of the rods 58 are fixed toa vertically bored bearing 59 in which a. vertical post 60 is adjustablypositioned. The adjustment is effected by spaced horizontal bores 61across the rod, any one of which is adapted to receive a pin 62 whichnormally rests on the top of the omitted for the sake of clearness.

bearing 59, which may be diametrically grooved for the purpose. Theupper end of the post has a fixed head 63 from which project laterallytwo horizontal arms 64 and 65 one spaced above the other. The upper, 64,forms a fixed spindle for the spaced-apart bearings 66 on the undersideof a plate 67 forming a table. These bearings at their lower ends areformed as stops 68 which abut against the lower arm 65 to hold the table67' with its upper surface in a horizontal plane. However, the table 67can be turned up about the axis of the upper arm 64 in the direction ofthe arrow 69 (FIG. 2), and the table 67, with the bearings 66 and arms64 and 65, can be turned about the vertical axis of the rod 6% in thedirection of the arrow 70 (FIG. 3).

It will be appreciated that the table fitted is of a size and hasdimensions to suit the goods to be packaged and, further, that itsnormal position is adjustably set to this end. Then, for enwrapping theparticular goods, such as the goods 71 (FIG. 4), which may be a foldedciderdown, folded blanket, or such similar goods, these goods 71 areplaced on the table 67 and the end 27 of the material pulled out so that(see FIG. 6) the lower part passes beneath the table 67 and the sidesand upper part come around the goods. The amount of the material 22pulled out must come well beyond the outer end of the goods,

and then the pedal 28 is depressed. This efifects the heatsealing-together of the thicknesses of the material at the dotted line72. Immediately, by further depression of the pedal, the material is cutalong the lines 73.

The bag or envelope has now been made and separated from the material 22in the machine, so that the table 67 can be turned in the direction ofeither one or both of the arrows 69, 70 for the operator to disengagethe goods and their envelope from the table and to finish the closinginof the open end of the envelope, which may be by heatsealing ashereafter explained.

In FIGS. 7 to 10, the upper portion of the machine is shown to a largerscale, somewhat diagrammatically, with the inclusion of essential partsbut other parts being More particularly, only one side frame 14 is shownwith the parts operating therewith, but it is only necessary to showthis as the machine is generally symmetrical about the centre line XX,FIG. 10.

As will be seen from the plan FIG. 9, the table 24 formed from acasting, at the side is slotted at 74, and across this slot theiroller36 is mounted so that the upper end of the lever 34 can pass upwardsthrough the slot for its shaped slot 35, which engages the roller 36, toimpart the reciprocating movements to the table. The shaping of theslott35 includes a lower portionwhich is radial and actually effects themovements of the table 24 and an upper portion which is circumferentialabout the axis of the shaft 33; this permits the necessary lost motion.

The upper side of the table 24 has a bearing 75 for a two-armed lever76, the lower arm having fixedthereto one end of the spindle 45 for theupper gripping roller 25,a similar lever mounted at the other side ofthe table having aflixed thereto the other end of the spindle 45. Theother arm of the lever 76 is connected to its equivalent member on theother side of the table by a cross bar 77. The pivotal mounting in eachof the bearings 76 is spring-stressed (not shown) so that the roller 25normally is kept pressed towards the table 24, but, for setting up themachine, by pressing down on the cross bar 77 the end of the material 22can be passed between the rollers 25 and 26; the latter is mounted onits fixed spindle 51 which is secured'in bearings on the underside ofthe table, and the roller projects upwardly through a slot 7 8 in thetable, to cooperate with the upper roller 25.

As shown particularly in FIG. 9, the outer side extremity of the table24 has pairs of downwardly extendspaced-apart rollers. One of these isthe roller 40 which is atthe front, and the other at therear is anadditional roller 79. These operate in a horizontal guiding slot in theside frame 14. The guideways 8b in each side I 81 is for the twospaced-apart rollers 83 and 84- of a yoke $5 formed integrally with across frame member 86, the other end of which is integral with thecorresponding yoke member of the other side frame 14. The portion of thelower roller 84 adjacent the inner surface of the frame 14- is engagedby the more or less horizontally projecting arnr of the bell-crank lever41, so that when the bell-crank levers 41 are operated by the table 24,the yokes 35 and frame 86 are caused to move.

Similarly, the lower vertical slot 82 is for the two spaced-apartrollers 87 and 88 of a yoke 89 formed integrally with a cross framemember 90, the other end of which is integral with the correspondingyoke member of the other side frame 14. The portion of the upper roller87 adjacent the inner surface of the side frame E4, is engaged by themore or less horizontal arm of the bell-crank lever 42, so that when thebell-crank levers 42 are operated by the table 24 the yoke 89 and frame90 are caused to move.

The upper cross frame 86 has downwardly projecting brackets 91 by whichthe electrical resistance heater 43 for effecting the sealing isadjustably secured in position. This heater 43 is only generallyindicated in the drawings (particularly FIG. 7) but is extends acrossthe machine at the front just behind the outer front panelling 15 andhas the usual lower sealing blade portion 92 which is parallel with thesurface of the table 24. Moreover, the heater is in an electricalcircuit in the machine (not shown) adapted to be connected to anddisconnected from an exterior source of supply, in the usual manner.Further, and again in any usual manner, the circuit may include anyusual tell-tale light and thermostatic control device. 7

The lower cross frame 90 adjustably carries the presser pad 44 by screws93. The adjustments of the heat sealer 43 and presser pad 44- are suchthat they mutually move towards each other when the table 24 movesrearwardly from the rest position shown in FIG. 7, so that as the frontedge of the table (moving rearwardly) frees itself from the material 22-(which is not moving) the presser pad rises to support the under surfaceof this freed part of the material, on its upper surface, andsimultaneously the heat sealing blade 92 is pressed on to the uppersurface of the material. The scaling is effected during the lost-motionmovement of the circumferential part of the slot 35 overthe roller 36 ofthe table 24, which latter is now not moving in its rear position.

During this lost-motion period, which takes place during the lastportion of the pressing-down action upon the pedal 28, the cutting iseffected along the line 73 (FIG. 4). For this purpose the presser pad isdivided vertically from end to end, and in the space between thedivisions is arranged a vertical cutting knife blade 94 with an uppertoothed cutting edge. The lower edge of the blade 94 is secured to twospaced-apart vertical sliding posts 95, one of which is seen in FIGS. 10and 11, another being in a symmetrical position towards the other sideof the machine. The post 95 passes through a bearing% in the cross frame96, and the portion below the bearing 96 has a helical compressionspring 97 thereon (omitted in FIG. 8 for the sake of clearness) whichabuts a pin at the lower end. The arrangement is such that in the restposition of the machine (FIGS. 7 and 10) the knife 94 is kept in itslowermost position in which the upper cutting edge is below the uppersurface of the presser pad 44. It continues in this position in relationto the surface of the presser pad 44, even when the latter is raised toits upper position by the bell-crank levers 42, and as long as theradial parts of the slots 35 of the levers 34 are operating upon therollers 36 of the table 24.

When the circumferential parts of the slots 35, however start to moveover the rollers 36, then the shaft 33 is still being turned from thepedal 28. This shaft 33 has secured thereto in the appropriatepositions, to operate the spring-pressed sliding posts, two liftinglevers, one 98 of which only appears in FIGS. 7, 8 and 11. The end ofthe lever 98 makes contact with the lower end of its co-operating post95 as the heat sealing operation commences. Then immediately thecontinued pressure on the pedal 28 causes the levers 98 to press theposts 95 upwardly through the bearings 96 to raise the knife 94 andcause it to move upwards through the presser pad 44. This movementcauses the cutting edge to cut through the material 22 held grippedbetween the heated sealer 91/92 and the presser pad 44, and then to risea slight distance and into the longitudinally extending division of asupplementary presser pad 99, which is brought into action just beforethe cutting operation and out of action immediately the cutting has beeneffected. The upward movement of the lever 98 is limited by anadjustable stop 100 carried by screw means from the cross frame 90.

The supplementary presser pad 99 extends across the machine and iscarried by bent lever arms 101 secured to a shaft 102 mounted in bearingbrackets integral with the upper cross frame 96. At the ends this shaft102 has other levers 103 secured thereto, the outer ends of which arepivoted to links one of which 104 appears in FIGS. 7, 8 and 11; the link104 is pivoted in a bearing lug at the 'upper end of the side frame 14.The shaft 102 is encircled by a number of torsion springs 105 the endsof which are so anchored or secured that the action of the springsalways tends to bring the presser pad 99 into the operative position,which is immediately adjacent the heater 43. On the other hand, when theparts are in the rest position (FIG. 7) the links 104 cause the presserpad 99 to be held up and away from the heater, thus minimising anydeterioration of the presser pad due to the heat.

When it is desired also to seal the remaining open side of the bag withthe goods enclosed inside, that is to say, to seal the open end of thetube which was first drawn over the goods, then in the first place caremust be taken that sufficient length of unoccupied tube is left at thisend. For the supplementary purposes, an additional heat-sealingcomponent is provided on the machine which is suitably disposed at oneor either side, or other position, so that this open end of the bag, ina flattened condition, is passed thereinto. That is to say, it is passedbetween a heater proper and a co-operating presser pad.

These are brought together to effect the necessary sealing by levers,power or other means, as will be readily appreciated, to effect thepurpose of sealing this last open end of the bag.

In some cases the heat sealing means of the machine may be employed forthe purpose. That is to say, the end 27 of the material projecting fromthe machine is not drawn out, but the remaining open side, in flattenedcondition, is passed into the opening 16 in the front panel 15, when themachine is in the rest position, so that this flattened open side isbrought to the sealing and cutting zone. The pedal 28 is then operated,which will effect the necessary sealing and cutting and bring a freshend portion 27 into position.

Although as shown the machine can accommodate two rolls of material ofdifferent widths, either of which can be used at choice, in some casesboth rolls may have their ends guided to the table 24 and then be heldvertically apart by a horizontal dividing pivoting tray or the likelocated over the table, leaving either of the two ends to be grippedbetween the rollers at choice. This may be done from the front of themachine by suitably forming and enlarging the opening 16 and having thegripping rollers moved and held apart at the end of their forwardfeeding movement.

If necessary braking means may be provided in connection with the rollof material, or in the length of the material, between the roll and thetable, to hold the material from movement, except when pulled upon forthe preliminary feed, or when drawn off by hand, such braking means alsolimiting the amount drawn off to that caused by these movements, withoutover-running.

The invention is not limited to the precise forms or details ofconstruction herein described, as these may be varied to suit particularrequirements.

What I claim is:

1. A packaging machine, comprising spaced parallel side frames,horizontal guideways in said frames arranged in opposed relation, ahorizontal table supported on said guides for forward and rearwardhorizontal reciprocating movement, a supply roll in said machine forfeeding a flattened tubular plastic film to said table, a work stationin front of said machine toward which said table is adapted to feed saidtubular film, means for reciprocating the table toward and away fromsaid work station, a pair of gripping rollers on said table betweenwhich the tubular plastic film is positioned for holding said film in arest position adjacent the work station and for drawing off the filmfrom the supply roll during movement of the table toward said workstation and feeding the same toward said Work station so that its frontedge is presented thereto in a filling position, a free-wheel deviceassociated with each gripping roller to permit the rollers to rotatewhen the desired length of material at the filling position is manuallypulled by its front edge toward said work station, and when said rollersmove rearwardly from the work station but which hold the rollers fromrotation and in gripping relation with the tubular plastic film upon thereturn movement of the table to the work station position, said sideframes being provided with vertical guideways adjacent the work stationand positioned between the front of the table when the same is in thework station position, heat sealing means extending between the upperportion of said vertical guideways and movable between said guideways, apresser pad adapted to cooperate with said sealing means slidably guidedin the lower portion of said vertical guideways, mechanical connectingmeans between the heat sealing means and said table and between thepresser pad and the table operable such that when the table is in thework station position at the front of the machine the heat sealing meansand presser pad will be held in spaced apart relation, but will be movedtogether to hold the portion of the tubular film which has been moved tothe front of the table and to the filling position when the table ismoved to the rear to effectively heat seal the tubular material, a knifeblade having an upper cutting edge carried by the presser pad, andoperating means to move the blade upwardly and sever the tubular filmwhile it is held between the heat sealing means and the presser pad,said blade being movable to a cutting position while the table is in arearmost position, and a support located at the work station to receivethe outer open end of the tubular film after the same has been pulled byhand from the machine to receive the package prior to the actuation ofsaid operating means to move the table from the work station positionrearwardly which automatically actuates the heat sealing cutting means,and thereby free the package goods in the front severed part of thetubular film with one end of said tubular film heat sealed.

2. A packaging machine as set forth in claim 1 in which the means foroperating the machine is operatively connected to the knife bladethrough a lost motion means which becomes operative immediately afterheat sealing by the heat sealing means and the presser pad.

3. A packaging machine as set forth in claim 1 in which the lowergripping roller is positioned so that its periphery projects into anelongated slot in the table to cooperate with the upper roller andfrictionally engage the plastic film which passes over and in contactwith the table surface.

4. A packaging machine as set forth in claim 1 in which bell-cranklevers are pivoted to the frame sides and are operatively connected tothe sides of the movable table, and guide rollers on said heat sealingmeans and presser pad for guiding the same into said vertical guideways.

5. A packaging machine as claimed in claim 4, in which a cross framemember carrying the heat-sealing means interconnects two yokes, eachyoke working over the vertical end of a side frame, and in which eachyoke has two spaced-apart guide rollers Working in a vertical slot of aside frame, the lower of which rollers is operatively connected to theupper bell-crank lever, and another cross frame member carrying thepresser pad and knife interconnecting two other yokes, each yoke workingover the vertical end of a side frame, each said yoke having twospaced-apart guide rollers working in another vertical slot of the sideframe, the upper of which rollers 'is operatively connected to the lowerbell-crank lever.

6. A packaging machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the movable tableis reciprocated by levers located at the two parallel edges thereof,which levers have slots, rollers at said edges, said levers havingspring return means and being on a cross shaft operated from a pedal,the shaped slots permitting said levers and the cross shaft to continueto be moved by the pedal after the table has tical movements of theknife blade with its upper cutting edge, said blade being carried byspring-controlled posts sliding in bearings on the cross frame and thelower ends of which are adapted to be abutted by the lever means on across shaft, to raise the knife in relation to the presser pad and cutthe material while the same is gripped between the heat-sealing meansand the presser pad and to the rear of said heat sealing grip.

8. A packaging machine as claimed in claim 7, in i which a supplementarypresser pad is provided to cooperate with the cutting blade, saidsupplementary presser pad being divided to receive the upper edge ofsaid blade after it has severed the material, and being carried byspring-biased levers from a cross shaft mounted in bearings integralwith the cross frame supporting the heatsealing means and guided to workin vertical slots of the side frames, and which cross shaft is connectedby lever and link means to the side frames, to hold the supplementarypresser pad in operative position for the cutting action and to swingand hold it out of contact from the heat-sealing means in the restposition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS WangAug. 19, 1958

1. A PACKAGING MACHINE, COMPRISING SPACED PARALLEL SIDE FRAMES, HORIZONTAL GUIDEWAYS IN SAID FRAMES ARRANGED IN OPPOSED RELATION, A HORIZONTAL TABLE SUPPORTED ON SAID GUIDES FOR FORWARD AND REARWARD HORIZONTAL RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT, A SUPPLY ROLL IN SAID MACHINE FOR FEEDING A FLATTENED TUBULAR PLASTIC FILM TO SAID TABLE, A WORK STATION IN FRONT OF SAID MACHINE TOWARD WHICH SAID TABLE IS ADAPTED TO FEED SAID TUBULAR FILM, MEANS FOR RECIPROCATING THE TABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID WORK STATION, A PAIR OF GRIPPING ROLLERS ON SAID TABLE BETWEEN WHICH THE TUBULAR PLASTIC FILM IS POSITIONED FOR HOLDING SAID FILM IN A REST POSITION ADJACENT THE WORK STATION AND FOR DRAWING OFF THE FILM FROM THE SUPPLY ROLL DURING MOVEMENT OF THE TABLE TOWARD SAID WORK STATION AND FEEDING THE SAME TOWARD SAID WORK STATION SO THAT ITS FRONT EDGE IS PRESENTED THERETO IN A FILLING POSITION, A FREE-WHEEL DEVICE ASSOCIATED WITH EACH GRIPPING ROLLER TO PERMIT THE ROLLERS TO ROTATE WHEN THE DESIRED LENGTH OF MATERIAL AT THE FILLING POSITION IS MANUALLY PULLED BY ITS FRONT EDGE TOWARD SAID WORK STATION, AND WHEN SAID ROLLERS MOVE REARWARDLY FROM THE WORK STATION BUT WHICH HOLD THE ROLLERS FROM ROTATION AND IN GRIPPING RELATION WITH THE TUBULAR PLASTIC FILM UPON THE RETURN MOVEMENT OF THE TABLE TO THE WORK STATION POSITION, SAID SIDE FRAMES BEING PROVIDED WITH VERTICAL GUIDEWAYS ADJACENT THE WORK STATION AND POSITIONED BETWEEN THE FRONT OF THE TABLE WHEN THE SAME IS IN THE WORK STATION POSITION, HEAT SEALING MEANS EXTENDING BETWEEN THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID VERTICAL GUIDEWAYS AND MOVABLE BETWEEN SAID GUIDEWAYS, A PRESSER PAD ADAPTED TO COOPERATE WITH SAID SEALING MEANS SLIDABLY GUIDED IN THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID VERTICAL GUIDEWAYS, MECHANICAL CONNECTING MEANS BETWEEN THE HEAT SEALING MEANS AND SAID TABLE AND BETWEEN THE PRESSER PAD AND THE TABLE OPERABLE SUCH THAT WHEN THE TABLE IS IN THE WORK STATION POSITION AT THE FRONT OF THE MACHINE THE HEAT SEALING MEANS AND PRESSER PAD WILL BE HELD IN SPACED APART RELATION, BUT WILL BE MOVED TOGETHER TO HOLD THE PORTION OF THE TUBULAR FILM WHICH HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE FRONT OF THE TABLE AND TO THE FILLING POSITION WHEN THE TABLE IS MOVED TO THE REAR TO EFFECTIVELY HEAT SEAL THE TUBULAR MATERIAL, A KNIFE BLADE HAVING AN UPPER CUTTING EDGE CARRIED BY THE PRESSER PAD, AND OPERATING MEANS TO MOVE THE BLADE UPWARDLY AND SEVER THE TUBULAR FILM WHILE IT IS HELD BETWEEN THE HEAT SEALING MEANS AND THE PRESSER PAD, SAID BLADE BEING MOVABLE TO A CUTTING POSITION WHILE THE TABLE IS IN A REARMOST POSITION, AND A SUPPORT LOCATED AT THE WORK STATION TO RECEIVE THE OUTER OPEN END OF THE TUBULAR FILM AFTER THE SAME HAS BEEN PULLED BY HAND FROM THE MACHINE TO RECEIVE THE PACKAGE PRIOR TO THE ACTUATION OF SAID OPERATING MEANS TO MOVE THE TABLE FROM THE WORK STATION POSITION REARWARDLY WHICH AUTOMATICALLY ACTUATES THE HEAT SEALING CUTTING MEANS, AND THEREBY FREE THE PACKAGE GOODS IN THE FRONT SEVERED PART OF THE TUBULAR FILM WITH ONE END OF SAID TUBULAR FILM HEAT SEALED. 